A residential home for example has a water supply inlet pipe that directs water from a source, such as a well or a city-supply source from outside, i.e., beyond the home, to a plumbing supply source within a home. Typically the inlet water is cold and therefore some must be directed to a heating unit prior to being used as a hot water source as provided for with a sink, shower, clothing and or dish washing machine. Other cold water may be directed to a sink, shower, toilet, clothing and or dish washing machine.
After cold and hot water is used at a source, it is typically directed through a drain and or toilet to a sewage system which consists of a series of pipes such as a sewage pipe, which may direct the spent water and accompanying waste from inside a home through a basement, or crawl space for example, and may lead the refused waste water and or sewage (collectively, “sewage”) into a septic tank or other city refuse conduit. It should be understood that the cold water, after being used at a source, exhibits a higher temperature than when it was initially provided at source.
The amount of energy used by a heating unit to heat inlet water to a desired temperature, prior to it being directed to a source, is directly related to the temperature of the inlet water prior to it being heated. For example, if the cooler the inlet water the more energy required to heat to the desired temperature. There is a need in the industry to efficiently reduce the amount of energy associated with heating inlet water. The inventor of the instant invention has discovered such a way to use heat from sewage and or spent water travelling through a sewer and or drain as a heating source to preheat the temperature of inlet water so that the energy required to heat the inlet by a heating unit is efficiently reduced.